RULES THAT GOVERN THE NEW CURRENCY ADJUSTMENT
Through Official Gazette No. 42.191 of 08/16/2021, the Venezuelan Central Bank issued the Rules that Govern the New Currency Adjustment (Resolution No. 21-08-01), in order to regulate the aspects related to the new monetary scale of the bolivar established in Decree No. 4.553 of the National Executive. Find a summary of said Rules below:
Rules on rounding
1) The Rules provide for guidelines for the rounding applicable to any price, value or monetary sum expressed in the new monetary scale, including the determination of taxes and penalties established in tax units, with the purpose of taking it to two decimals; three decimals must be set for the sole purpose of rounding the second decimal, which will remain the same if the third decimal is lower than 5 and if it is equal to or higher than 5, the second decimal will be rounded by being increased in one unit.
2) In the case of wages, salaries, pensions, and other obligations resulting from work in favor of workers, the rounding of the fraction of two decimals of the new monetary expression will be made if the third decimal is other than 0, case in which the second decimal will be rounded by being increased in one unit.
Circulation of currencies
3) The bank notes issued by the VCB that are equal to or higher than Bs 10,000 may circulate after October 1, 2021. They may be used as legal currency up to the time when they are demonetized through a VCB Resolution. The bank notes and coins with denominations lower than Bs. 10,000 may be deposited with bank institutions and receipt of the same for payment of pecuniary obligations will not be mandatory.
4) The obligation to express the price of goods and services in both current bolivars and the new scale, in force as from 09/01/2021 and up to the time when the VCB provides otherwise, will not be applicable to instruments or legal transactions subject to registration or authentication at registries or notaries’ offices; but if said instruments contain references in historical figures, they may be reflected in both their historical value and their new monetary expression.
Rules on checks and credit instruments
5) The amount of the checks and other credit instruments issued until 09/30/2021 and presented for payment as from October 1, 2021 will be understood to be automatically expressed, and must be paid, in the new monetary scale. The Electronic Clearance Chamber System of the VCB will process these checks only until 10/29/2021; after said date, they will be cashed only at bank counters.
6) The amount of the checks and other credit instruments issued as from October 1, 2021 will be understood to be expressed in the new monetary scale, no need of using any additional expression.
Financial statements
7) The financial statements of fiscal years ended before October 1, 2021 must be expressed in current bolivars, even if they are approved on a subsequent date. The accounting balances of said financial statements will be expressed in the new monetary scale for purposes of their comparison to subsequent fiscal years. The balances of ledgers and accounts in accounting of fiscal years ended before October 1, 2021 must be converted into bolivars in its new monetary scale in order to be used as initial balances for the following period.
8) The financial statements of closing of accounts ended as from October 1, 2021 must be prepared and presented in the new monetary scale, as well as any comparative information.
Technological adaptation
9) The Rules confirm the obligation of public and private, natural and legal persons to make the adjustments in their computation systems before October 1, 2021, so that they have the capacity to process the transactions that involve a reference to the national currency in the new monetary scale.
The Rules became effective upon publication of the same in the Official Gazette.
In order to access the Rules, please click here.
Should you have any question or comment or require further information, please contact the partner in charge of your account via email.